Smart Interaction—A more natural, human conversational interface

Take the A out of AI with fluent human communication.

Freedom of speech—and the ability to interrupt

No buttons necessary; no script required.

At Nuance, we study human conversation to create technology that is easy to talk to and intuitive in its responses. That’s why our automotive speech recognition needs no buttons or prompts to be activated—and why it’s OK with shortcuts, pauses and interruptions.

With Dragon Drive, your assistant understands casual, implicit requests and responds thoughtfully, like a friend. And, like all our AI-powered innovations, the conversational interface is designed with your brand—and your priorities—in mind.

The solution

Speech recognition that people can relate to

Satisfaction with automotive assistants is directly related to how easy and natural the interaction is. Our platform is designed to optimize user experience by creating the industry’s most fluent, flexible, intuitive, and friendly conversational interface. Dragon Drive understands naturally spoken commands, knows the identity and location of each speaker, and responds with a human-like voice that can be customized to the personality of your brand.

Free users from the biggest barrier to accepting automotive assistants: the rules and constraints that regiment how they can talk to the car. Natural Language Understanding (NLU) eliminates the need for scripts, prompts, and fixed commands, delivering flexible, friendly interaction that understands even implied requests.

A paradigm shift from conventional automotive voice control systems, NLU combines proprietary technology, statistical modeling and Deep Learning based on Neuronal Networks (NN). The result? Assistants that understand what users want when they speak in their own words, executing on implicit and explicit commands as well as complex, one-shot utterances.

It’s not enough for an automotive assistant to have answers; it must also respond with intelligence that makes users feel understood. Natural Language Generation (NLG) enables assistants to contextualize answers, varying output to suit the user's prompts. As supported by Dragon Drive, the system draws content from the vehicle (for in-vehicle functions), from Nuance’s content database (for weather and other localized information) or from thoughtfully chosen, carefully integrated cloud sources to engage in real conversation. As with all Nuance innovations in contextual AI, the voice becomes yours with brand customization.

Spare users the small talk with barge-in, a feature that allows speakers to bypass prompts, menus, lists, and help messages to get straight to the point. Designed to mimic real human interaction, this shortcut rewards directness with quicker results and seamless response to correction, interruption, and redirection.

Nothing enhances communication like shared interests—so Dragon Drive ensures that users will never run out of things to talk about. Unlike traditional systems that connect only with core domains like dialing, navigation and basic entertainment, our platform delivers a connected world of content in your distinctive brand voice. From third-party assistants to preferred apps and work platforms, there is no limit to the interoperability—and enriching conversation—your customers can enjoy in the car.

The advanced automation of driving functions places a greater burden on automotive assistants to say more, do more, and understand better. Smart interaction future proofs your cars by delivering assistants as eloquent as they are intuitive, elevating in-car speech recognition from a necessity to a pleasure. Its access to diverse domains makes multi-tasking easy, delivering an in-car experience so rewarding that users may never want to pull over.

Benefits

Deliver truly collaborative dialogue

Users shouldn’t have to think before speaking to their automotive assistants. With Dragon Drive, each interaction evolves organically without buttons, wake-up words, prompts or scripts. Our conversational AI enables assistants to grasp speakers’ intent when they speak casually, forget details, or pick up a topic they abandoned hours ago.

Natural speech recognition and brand consistent voice

No need to use a special tone or specific words: regular human language is second nature to Dragon Drive. And when it responds, its friendly, customized voice personas reflect the identity of your brand.

The intelligence to connect the dots

I’m hungry. I’m hot. How late are they open? With our conversational interface, users don’t have to spell out their requests for the assistant to understand them. It has the intuition to fill in the blanks, the contextual reasoning to answer accordingly, and the personalization to address individual preferences in its response.

Multimodal interaction

Advanced text-to-speech capabilities combine with multimodality to facilitate user convenience in every situation. Users have the flexibility to communicate by writing or even gaze, while the assistant adapts its output to their changing needs. Interaction prioritizes safety by providing TTS readings of displayed tables so that drivers stay focused.

Human cadence and expressivity

One of the biggest customer complaints about AI-enabled assistants is that they sound like robots. We’ve leveraged decades of innovation leadership in conversational AI to create in-vehicle speech that sounds as intelligent as it is, giving assistants a warm, lively human voice. Its pronunciation is correct, its speaking style is fluent, its emphasis is intuitive and it emulates natural paralinguistic phenomena including laughs and hesitations.

Multilingual fluency

Dragon Drive is truly fluent in more than 50 languages—both in speech and comprehension. Its ability to speak each language with almost no accent facilitates navigation across borders, when users will need to know the local names of streets and cities.

Interruptions welcome

With Dragon Drive, users can cut in, speak over, or hurry along their assistants as they would their actual friends. Like a friend, the assistant will stop rambling and get to the point. No more waiting for unnecessary lists, menu items or help messages. It’s yet another way in which speech recognition has evolved to reflect the cadences of real human interaction.

Situational companionship

Since most drivers spend many hours alone with their automotive assistants, it’s important that this time feels valuable. And an assistant equipped with smart interaction makes driving easier and more interesting, keeping users company during commutes, long road trips, or everyday errands.

Innovation leadership for future mobility

The age of autonomous driving is just ahead of us—but Nuance accelerates the future in everything we do. Our technologies set the standard for artificial intelligence in cars, allowing OEMs to deliver comprehensive connection within a consistent brand experience. Discover how delightful intelligence can be with the automotive industry’s #1 partner.